Geography and environment of Great Britain

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ  РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ

 

                                       Учреждение образования

                      «Гомельский государственный университет

                                     имени Франциска Скорины»

 

                                 факультет иностранных языков

 

                    Кафедра теории и практики  английского языка

 

 

 

 

           Geography and environment of Great Britain

 

                                            Курсовая работа

 

Исполнитель

студентка группы

 

 

Научный руководитель                                                  

преподаватель                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Гомель 2012 

    Contents

Introduction …………………………………………..................................................4

1 The British Monarchy…………………...…………………………………………5

2 Members of the British Royal Family………………………………........................6

2.1 Queen Elizabeth II ……………………………………………..............................6

2.2 Children of the Queen………………………………………………......................7

3 History of the Monarchy ……………………………………………………..........11

3.1 English Monarchs ………………………………………………………….……11

3.2 Scottish Monarchs ………………….……………………………………….......12

3.3 United Kingdom Monarchs ……………………………………………………..15

4 The role of the British monarchy in Commonwealth and the US…………………18

4.1 About the Commonwealth……………………………………………………….18

4.2 The Queen's role in the Commonwealth ………………………………………..18

4.3 The role of the British Monarchy in the UK …………………………………....20

5 Ceremonial and social duties of the British Royal Family………………………...21

5.1 Receptions and Theme Days ……………………………....................................24

5.2 Charities and Patronages ……………………………………………………..…24

5.3 Royal involvement with charities………………………………………………..25

6 The role of the monarch in governing the country.…………………...…………...27

6.1 The role of the Sovereign………………………………………………………..27

6.2 Queen and the Law, Church, Armed Forces………………………………….....28

7 The Future attitude of the British Monarchy.…………….............………….........27

Conclusion………………………………...................................................................31

Bibliography ………………………………...............................................................32

Appendix A……………………………………………..............................................33

 

     Introduction

 

 

      It is rather difficult to understand the British way of ruling the country. The foundations of the modern monarchy were laid more than a millennium ago, in Anglo-Saxon and Celtic Britain, so its modern form is a stage in an evolution that has been shaped by attitudes toward divorce, the changing role of women, the democratization of society, dynastic intermarriage, financial demands, religious convictions, struggles for economic and political power, and territorial aggrandizement.

     Everywhere you go in Britain, you find evidence of this long history. When you visit a stately home, the guide will tell you that ‘Queen Elizabeth slept here’. If you travel around the country, you’ll see the castles that monarchs built as strongholds and the sites of battles where kings fought for power. And you’ll find towns and villages with royal names like King’s Norton, Charlton Kings, and, of all things, Queen Camel.

     And the royals are still very much around. The British press and TV news reports often feature items about Queen Elizabeth meeting foreign heads of state or Prince Charles extending his organic farm or speaking out about  architecture or the natural environment. The monarchy is still at the heart of British life.

In Britain the Queen is the Head of State, but in fact she doesn’t rule the country as she has no power.  The Queen has a formal role as Head of Nation ' She inspires the people , she is the focus of national identity , awards excellence to her citizens , and is known to extend support to the cherished ideals of voluntary and public service She has the support of members of her immediate family for the functions she is obliged to perform . The Queen plays the sterling role to mould the national identity of the country. That is why they often say that the monarch in this country reigns but does not rule.  Although the British Sovereign no longer has a political or executive role, he or she continues to play an important part in the life of the nation. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy: the head of the state is a king or a queen.  The title to the Crown derives partly from statute and partly from common law rules of descent. Despite interruptions in the direct line of succession, inheritance has always been the way royal power has passed down the generations, with sons of the sovereign coming before daughters in succeeding to the throne. The present Sovereign is Queen Elisabeth II.  The Queen's full title in the United Kingdom is 'Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith'. 

    As the Head of State, the Queen fulfils different state duties which have developed over a thousand years of history.  In practice she is not allowed to actually exercise any authority or even display any preferences.

     In law the Queen is head of the executive, head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crown and the established Church of England.  The Queen is a symbol of the country history and its traditions.  The monarchy’s absolute power has been progressively reduced, the Queen is impartial and acts on the advise of her ministers.  The Queen and the Royal family continue to take part in many traditional ceremonies.

     An important symbolic role of the monarchy has been to uphold, represent and express certain fundamental values and standards, which are very widely accepted and which in some cases are vital to public well being. Their visits to different parts of Britain and to many other countries attract considerable interests and publicity.

     One of the most significant duties of the Queen is that she gains direct contact with people from all walks of life and – as a Head of the Commonwealth –  with people from all the countries of the Commonwealth.  For example, if we suppose that Britain has an elected Head of State other countries of the Commonwealth will also wish to have elected Heads of State.  The Commonwealth will just disappear, it will fall to pieces, in to isolated countries, each having its own Head.  From my point of view, it is not the case just because this situation will cause a lot of problems one of which is connected with the status of people in these countries.  Maybe, more than a half of them want the Commonwealth to be retained.  That is a problem on its own and I have gone too far.  Let's return to the Queen.

     She and the Royal family also champion many charities in the name of the nation. In the Overseas Territories, the Queen is usually represented by governors responsible to the United Kingdom government for the administration of the countries in which they serve.  In addition to these state duties, the Queen has a less formal role as "the Head of Nation". This role of the monarch is symbolic. She embodies national identity, unity and pride, gives a sense of stability and continuity.

     ''But why the people support the monarchy?''The monarchy has no political power and does not enjoy the same popularity as in the past in early 20th century. But it is still seen as a symbol of national unity. This can be seen as a plus but the monarchy is also a symbol of inherited privilege and as the apex of a deeply divisive class system.

     In twenty-first century popularity of the monarchy has been steadily declining in recent decades and most of the younger generations have little regard for the Royal family, raising questions over how long it can exist in a rapidly changing world. There is no doubt that in the past some monarchs have introduced great changes to the country and the nation benefited from their rule. But in the past kings and queens took an active role in ruling the country. Other monarchs were decidedly cruel to their subjects.  Nowadays however, the United Kingdom would certainly function well without a monarchy, just as the many democratic republics around the world do. The future of the monarchy, while not yet a pressing issue for the nation may one day boil down to a simple cost-benefit analysis. For many, support of the monarchy is inextricably linked to patriotism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

     1 The British Monarchy

 

 

      Monarchy, form of government in which sovereignty is vested in a single person whose right to rule is generally hereditary and who is empowered to remain in office for life. The power of this sovereign may vary from the absolute to that strongly limited by custom or constitution. Monarchy has existed since the earliest history of humankind and was often established during periods of external threat or internal crisis because it provided a more efficient focus of power than aristocracy or democracy, which tended to diffuse power. Most monarchies appear to have been elective originally, but dynasties early became customary. In primitive times, divine descent of the monarch was often claimed. Deification was general in ancient Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia, and it was also practiced during certain periods in ancient Greece and Rome. A more moderate belief arose in Christian Europe in the Middle Ages; it stated that the monarch was the appointed agent of divine will. This was symbolized by the coronation of the king by a bishop or the pope, as in the Holy Roman Empire. Although theoretically at the apex of feudal power, the medieval monarchs were in fact weak and dependent upon the nobility for much of their power. During the Renaissance and after, there emerged “new monarchs” who broke the power of the nobility and centralized the state under their own rigid rule. Notable examples are Henry VII and Henry VIII of England and Louis XIV of France. The 16th and 17th cent. mark the height of absolute monarchy, which found its theoretical justification in the doctrine of divine right. However, even the powerful monarchs of the 17th cent. were somewhat limited by custom and constitution as well as by the delegation of powers to strong bureaucracies. Such limitations were also felt by the “benevolent despots” of the 18th cent. Changes in intellectual climate, in the demands made upon government in a secular and commercially expanding society, and in the social structure, as the bourgeoisie became increasingly powerful, eventually weakened the institution of monarchy in Europe. The Glorious Revolution in England (1688 year) and the French Revolution (1789 year) were important landmarks in the decline and limitation of monarchical power. Throughout the 19th cent. Royal power was increasingly reduced by constitutional provisions and parliamentary incursions. In the 20th cent., monarchs have generally become symbols of national unity, while real power has been transferred to constitutional assemblies. Over the past 200 years democratic self-government has been established and extended to such an extent that a true functioning monarchy is a rare occurrence in both East and West. Among the few remaining are Brunei, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. Notable constitutional monarchies include Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Thailand [1, p.12].

 

 

 

 

 

     2 Members of the British Royal Family

 

 

     2.1 Queen Elizabeth II

 

 

     Title: Queen Elizabeth I.I Full Name: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. Father: George VI. Mother: Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Born: April 21, 1926 at 17, Bruton Street, London. Current Age: 85 years, 10 months and 29 days. Married: Prince Philip on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey. Children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward.

     Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London on 21 April 1926; she was educated privately, and assumed official duties at 16. During World War II she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and by an amendment to the Regency Act she became a state counsellor on her 18th birthday. On the death of George VI in 1952 she succeeded to the throne while in Kenya with her husband and was crowned on 2 June 1953.

     The reign of Queen Elizabeth II since 1952 has spanned a period of rapid and occasionally turbulent change. Britain’s position in the world, her economy, and the very shape and structures of society have all been transformed and many traditional institutions have suffered in the process. Through all this, the path of the Crown has been marked out by The Queen herself, in a prolonged display of unwavering devotion to duty and quiet pragmatism which has met a nationally-felt need, and has won her the unstinting respect and affection of her peoples. As hereditary head of state for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The Queen has symbolic and formal functions and duties but no direct powers.

     Supported by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to whom she was married on 20 November 1947, The Queen is head of a large family. The first child of the royal marriage and the current heir to the throne is Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, who was born on 14 November 1948 and was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarvon Castle on 1 July 1969. He married Lady Diana Spencer ( Princess Diana ) on 29 July 1981; two sons were born to the marriage, Prince William, born 21 June 1982 and Prince Henry ( Prince Harry ), born 15 September 1984. However, the marriage broke down amid widely-publicised bitterness, and a divorce followed. These troubles, together with the divorces of Princess Anne and the Duke of York, were seen by some to diminish the monarchy in public esteem. The death of Diana, Princess of Wales on 31 August 1997 in a car crash in Paris unleashed a wave of hysteria stirred up by the media, and the family have had to suffer relentless intrusion by the world's press into their lives.

     Elizabeth II is now the longest reigning British monarch since Queen Victoria, and The Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 was celebrated with enthusiasm and great displays of loyalty [2, p.8](Appendix A)

 

  

 

     2.2 Children of the Queen

 

 

     Title: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Full Name: Philip Mountbatten. Father: Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. Mother: Princess Alice of Battenberg. Relation to Elizabeth II: Husband. Born: June 10, 1921 at Villa Mon Repos, Corfu, Greece. Current Age: 90 years, 9 months and 10 days. Married: Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey. Children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward.

     Philip was born Philippos Prince of Greece and Denmark on the Greek Island of Corfu in 1921. His father was Prince Andrew, younger brother of King Constantine of Greece, and his mother Princess Alice of Battenberg. He is a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria though his mother’s family. The monarchy of Greece was overthrown in 1922, and George V sent a Royal Navy ship HMS Calypso to rescue them. The one-year old Philip was carried to safety in an orange box. The family lived in Paris but his parents’ marriage broke up and Philip went to school in England, Germany and then Gordonstoun in Scotland where he was head of the school cricket and hockey teams and became head boy. Princess Elizabeth and Philip first met when they attended the wedding of Philip's cousin, Princess Marina of Greece to The Duke of Kent, who was an uncle of Princess Elizabeth, in 1934.

     Philip joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and attended Dartmouth college where as a cadet Philip of Greece he showed round then 13 years old Princess Elizabeth. He saw active service in WW2 in the Mediterranean taking part in the Allied invasion of Sicily, and with the British Pacific fleet was present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrender was signed. He returned to Britain in 1946 and served as a staff officer at Greenwich Naval College. In 1947 he became a naturalised British subject, and adopted the surname Mountbatten, the anglicised version of his mother’s name of Battenberg .

     The engagement between Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten RN was announced on the 9 July 1947 and they were married in Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947. The day before his wedding, King George VI titled his future son-in-law Philip Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich, of Greenwich in the County of London. The ceremony recorded by the BBC was hugely popular and brought a ray of sunshine to the otherwise austere life of post-war Britain. His three surviving sisters who had married German aristocrats were not invited to the wedding. Following their honeymoon the Prince resumed his career in the Navy and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh lived in Malta.

     Title: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. Full Name: Charles Philip Arthur George. Father: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Mother: Queen Elizabeth II. Relation to Elizabeth II: Son. Born: November 14, 1948 at Buckingham Palace, London. Current Age: 63 years, 4 months and 6 days. Married (1): Diana Spencer on July 29, 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. Divorced: August 28, 1996.Children: Prince William, Prince Harry. Married (2): Camilla Shand Parker Bowles on April 9, 2005 at The Guildhall, Windsor.

     Prince Charles was born in 1948, eldest son of the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, the traditional titles for the heir to the throne, when his mother became Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. He attended her coronation. Tutored by a governess until the age of 8, he attended Cheam preparatory school in Berkshire and then Gordonstoun School in Scotland where his father had been at school. He became head boy although he has said that he did not enjoy his time at school. In 1966 he spent two terms at Geelong School in Australia and visited Papua New Guinea.

     On leaving school he attended Trinity College at Cambridge University where he studied anthropology and archaeology earning a BA degree. He also attended one term at University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he studied Welsh, learning enough to make his speech in Welsh during his investiture as Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester at Caernarfon Castle on 1st July 1969. He became the first member of the Royal Family since George 1 to attend a British Government cabinet meeting, and expressed an interest in becoming Governor General of Australia although nothing came of this. His military career included training as a jet pilot at RAF Cranwell, and naval training at Royal Naval College Dartmouth.

     His love life has been closely followed by the World’s press, and attachments included Lady Jane Wellesley, Davina Sheffield, Princess Marie Astrid, Lady Sarah Spencer (Diana’s elder sister), Camilla Shand (later Parker-Bowles), and Amanda Knatchbull to whom he proposed. In 1977 he met Lady Diana Spencer while visiting her family home in Althorp, and they were married on 29 July 1981 in St Paul’s Cathedral. She became Princess of Wales and soon became the star attraction of the World’s press who relentlessly followed her. Unprepared for the media hype and commitments of the royal family she fell out with other members of the family, and was allegedly unstable and temperamental. Following the birth of their two sons, Princes William and Harry, the marriage was in trouble and she allegedly had several liaisons. Charles resumed his liaison with Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles and Diana were divorced on 28 August 1996. Camilla became Charles’s companion and following her divorce they were married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall on 9 April 2005 followed by a service of prayer and dedication in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. She became the Duchess of Cornwall.

     Charles’s interests include architecture, inner city renewal, environmental issues and gardening. His promoted ‘green’ environmental views long before they became popular, and runs an organic farming business at his country estate in Gloucestershire with its own organic Duchy brand. He takes a keen interest in philosophy, alternative medicines, religions and visits the Greek Orthodox monasteries of Mount Athos in Greece.

     Title: Princess Anne, Princess Royal. Full Name: Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise. Father: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh .Mother: Queen Elizabeth II. Relation to Elizabeth II: Daughter. Born: August 15, 1950 at Clarence House, London. Current Age: 61 years, 7 months and 5 days. Married: Mark Phillips on November 14, 1973 at Westminster Abbey. Divorced: April 28, 1992.Children: Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips. Married: Timothy Laurence on December 12, 1992 at Crathie, Ballater, Aberdeenshire.

     Princess Anne was born on 15 August 1950 at Clarence House in London. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. She was baptised at Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950 by the Archbishop of York. She is styled Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Edinburgh. As a child she was more bossy and vivacious than her older brother Charles.

     Princess Anne was educated privately at Buckingham Palace, and then at Benenden boarding School in Kent. She attained two A levels but was happiest in her love of the outdoors and horse riding. On leaving Benenden in 1968 she entered public life, and at 20 became president of Save the Children Fund on whose behalf she has worked tirelessly and visited over 70 counties. She is also Commandant-in-Chief of St John Ambulance, founded the Princess Royal Trust for Carers and is an official with over 200 charities. On 13 June 1987, the Queen bestowed her with the title of Princess Royal the title traditionally given to the monarch's eldest daughter. She carries out the most engagements of any member of the Royal Family.